E-literature Vs. the Printing Press

      In The Future of the Book (1996, University of California Press)
Jay David Bolter and Umberto Eco express two different perspectives on the
effect the Internet has and will have on print literature. (By literature,
we mean all printed materials, including novels, magazines, newspapers, and
textbooks.)  Bolter argues that many academic researchers "are in fact
transferring their allegiance from the printed page to the computer screen";
consequently,"if our culture follows their lead, it will come to associate
with text the qualities of the computer...rather than those of the printed
book."  Eco, on the other hand, believes "Books will remain indispensable
not only for literature, but for any circumstance in which one needs to
read carefully, not only to recieve information but also to speculate and
to reflect about it."  
      This webpage is designed to present available resources and recent 
developments in e-literature, as well as our own opinions on whether this 
trend will have a notable impact on printed literature.

Part II: Literature on the Internet

      PRO: The ability to access a large variety of information at one time
           i.e., websites like The Gutenburg Project and The Perseus Project
           from which users may download and/or read classic literature
           and other texts already in the public domain.

      CON: The formats in which e-literature texts are commonly published
           (ASCII and HTML) make it difficult to annotate them, as one 
           father noted in an article on theTeleread
           website:
                    "My son was in 8th grade this last year and the class
                     was required to purchase books such as Tom Sawyer in
                     order to mark them up with comments and notes. If there
                     had been an easy way to handle this electronically, 
                     I'd have pulled copies off Project Gutenberg in a flash.
                     Unfortunately, schools are not provided with sufficient
                     resources to support online reading, editing and
                     annotating." 
      
      PRO: Features of portable e-book reading devices, such as Rocket e-book
           and The EveryBook Dedicated Reader include the ability
           to store twenty to several hundred novels and/or textbooks
          (depending on model and memory), touch sensitive screens, ability
           to transfer personal documents (such as e-mail, reports, and
           appointment book) from your personal computer.  The weight of the
           e-books (starting at 12 ounces)enables a lighter load in travel.
    
      CON: Cost of the e-book ranges from about $280 to $1,600, which makes
           it a luxury item for most households.  This cost does not include 
           downloaded books, power costs (for charging the battery),insurance,
           and potential upgrades, among other things.

     Even Umberto Eco, who does not believe printed books will be
completely replaced by computers,states that "Educational concern
must be extended to the whole of media."  In our search of the
Internet, we came across several issues the advantages a mass-media
approach might have for education.

     The Availability of Textbooks. Due to negligible textbook budgets 
in many public schools, teachers are turning to the Internet to find updated
materials for their classes.  A teacher at an inner city school in Brooklyn
passed 100% of his low-income students through the New York State Regent's 
Exams by using online materials complete with videos, links, and text 
supports instead of the traditional lecture method. (For more on this story,
see David H. Rothman's July 9,1999 article on the
Teleread site.)
        Parents who homeschool their children are able to access valuable 
teaching materials through Project Gutenburg and other sources.
(From a Teleread article on E-book Observations and Tips from Readers
and Vendors.

     Lightening the Load of Traditional Textbooks. Medical journals 
and other research materials that become outdated in a short period of time
are particularly suited to the e-book format.  College students would not 
have to spend precious hours hunting for printed copies of textbooks they 
will probably only use for one semester.  
        Another less obvious advantage of e-books, which can contain 
information equal to several 1,000 page textbooks, is their compactness. An
11-year-old fifth grader decided to focus her project for the School District
Science Fair on this hypothesis: if a backpack should not weigh more than 10%
 of body weight, most students carry too much weight. Why this topic? The 
student stated, "I saw an article regarding heavy backpacks and how they hurt
students for the rest of their lives."  Her solution to the problem is an 
electronic book. Her choice within the market is the Everybook Dedicated 
Reader™. Her reasons included size of the book, color, and dual screens.
        The student won first place in her Science Fair. She met with 
principals in her school district to share her research and try to convince
them to use electronic books. They were shocked at the number of students
who carried too much weight and concerned about the students who reported 
pain. The high school principal acknowledged the fact that students do not
go to lockers. His interim solution was to investigate relocating locker
assignments near student’s mid-day classes. (From Teleread.)

      As the twentieth century comes to a close, we will continue to 
see an increase in the use of e-literature, for business, education, 
and even recreational purposes.  There are many, like Jay David Bolter,
who feel that our culture is becoming increasingly image oriented (and
thus moving away from text and critical literacy)and that the Internet
is only encouraging this shift. However, we agree with Eco, who makes
the common-sense argument that "The main feature of a computer screen
is that it hosts and displays more alphabetic letters than images. The
new generation will be alphabetic and not image oriented." This page
itself demonstrates that the textual far outweighs the visual in 
cyberspace.
      We were unable to access an actual portable e-book to discover
whether it is in fact a viable replacement for a printed book.  So,
even though we agree that educational and business texts are well-suited,
maybe even ideal, for this format, we find it difficult to believe that
there will ever come a rainy day in which thousands,and perhaps millions
of people don't have the desire to curl up on the couch with a blanket
and a good (non-electronic)book.

Part II

O'Conner's American Literature Online

Harriet Jacobs

The HTI American Verse Project

Questions or Comments?
Contact:
Heather Boyd heathermboyd@hotmail.com
Whitney Steen tourjete@ou.edu

Part II Back to Index